March 7, 2009 – CountUp

Exactly 18 years ago this weekend I returned home from the Saudi Arabian sands in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Here’s a timeline:

Sat. Mar. 09 1991 0326L – Departed Al Kharj AB Saudi Arabia.
Sat. Mar. 09 1991 0833L – Arrived Torrejon AB Spain.
Sat. Mar. 09 1991 1357L – Departed Torrejon AB Spain.
Sat. Mar. 09 1991 1656L – Arrived Dover AFB Delaware.
(Spent the night at a hotel in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.)

Sun. Mar. 10 1991 0756L – Departed Philadelphia Pennsylvania.
Sun. Mar. 10 1991 1001L – Arrived Miami Florida.

3 days later I drove nearly 1,100 miles from Homestead AFB to Northern Virginia to spend the rest of the month of March 1991 with my family. (The USAF gave us returning veterans that free time off following the war to spend with our families.)

And now for your ‘Saturday Night Retro’ review I present to you “Voices That Care”. Spot the stars from 1991. They cared for us back then. Unfortunately it’s a different world today.

The Major’s Walk-A-Thon

Time: 6:28 AM – 7:14 AM
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Temperature: 65°F
Dewpoint: 57°F
Relative Humidity: 75%
Winds: E 6 MPH
Barometric Pressure: 30.30 Rising

Here are my thoughts in 15 words or less:

– It’s my 2nd walk around my neighbourhood of 2009.
– The last time I did this was the 1ST Saturday morning of January.
– That was way too long ago.
– I hadn’t done it since then due to a wide variety of reasons.
– Some of them were too legit to quit – like I was out-of-town.
– Some of them were poor excuses not to walk – such as ‘too cold outside’.
– Hopefully I can get back into my groove again on Saturday mornings.
– That is until it gets ‘too warm outside’ by the time mid-May rolls around.
– This morning was the last morning of Standard Time until November.
– That means dark early mornings begin tomorrow.
– The Sun rose at 6:39 AM EST this morning.
– I began my walk 11 minutes before that.
– Tomorrow morning at 6:39 AM EDT it will be pitch dark outside.
– I don’t need daylight at 7:30 PM at night.
– I need it at 6:30 AM in the morning.
– I’m not a fan of Daylight Saving Time.
– That’s right – it’s not ‘Savings‘ – it’s ‘Saving’. Look it up.
– Oh yeah – about this morning’s walk:
– I walked for 46.6 minutes.
– That made it about a 2.5-mile walk.
– That made it the longest walk ever !
– It nipped my previous 43.2 minute / 2.3-mile walk.
– My neighbourhood smelled good all around.
– I smelled dozens and dozens of varieties of breakfast in the air.
– It all made me hungry for some home-cooked food.
– Too bad I don’t cook.
– But Burger King does !
– After this past rollercoaster of a work week I needed this walk.
– It made me feel good.
– It cleared my mind.
– I haven’t felt this refreshed in a long time.
– I’m ready to rock and roll.
– I’m ready to file my income taxes.
– Be sure to catch the ‘Saturday Night Retro’ tonight.
– You won’t regret it dude !